Russell Brand and Dr. Oz joke about hugging female Trump secretary as rape-accused comic joins MAHA panel
Por Rachel Dobkin — – World RSS Feed
Russell Brand and Dr. Oz joke about hugging female Trump secretary as rape-accused comic joins MAHA panel
‘She initiated that contact,’ controversial British comedian says as attempt at sexual assault humor falls flat with crowd
Rachel Dobkin in New York Wednesday 30 September 2026 01:38 BST
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British comedian and actor Russell Brand, who has been repeatedly accused of rape, and Dr. Mehmet Oz joked about hugging a female member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet during a panel at a summit promoting the “Make America Healthy Again” movement that the president’s administration has championed.
“Russell Brand was backstage hugging the Secretary of Agriculture [Brooke Rollins],” Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told his audience as Brand, 51, took the stage. “Took MAHA to a whole new level.”
“She initiated that contact, I shall make clear, doctor,” Brand quipped, seemingly poking fun at the sexual assault allegations against him.
Oz laughed at Brand’s comment, but the crowd did not seem that amused, only letting out a chuckle. Vice President JD Vance and Kennedy later ended the summit with a fireside chat.
open image in galleryBrand has faced multiple charges of rape and sexual assault in England since April 2025, stemming from incidents in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The comedian has pleaded not guilty to each charge.
London’s Metropolitan Police force announced in April 2025 that Brand faced one count of rape, one of indecent assault, one of oral rape and two of sexual assault, the Associated Press reported at the time.
The charges stem from incidents that took place between 1999 and 2005 involving four women — one in the seaside town of Bournemouth and the other three in London’s Westminster area.
In December 2025, the United Kingdom’s Crown Prosecution Service announced two new charges — one count of rape and one of sexual assault — against Brand in relation to incidents in 2009 involving two more women, according to the AP.
open image in galleryBrand is set to face trial for all seven charges starting on October 12, per Sky News.
In response to the initial charges against him, Brand told his social media followers in a video posted in April 2025, “I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, a sex addict and an imbecile.
“But what I never was, was a rapist. I’ve never engaged in nonconsensual activity. I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.”
Brand was at the MAHA summit Tuesday in Washington, D.C., to host a panel with Oz and Dan Brillman, Oz’s deputy at CMS.
open image in galleryThe comedian attempted to flatter Oz, telling him: “One of the things that’s always struck me about you in particular, doctor — aside from the hair, the evident beauty, the incredible family, the ability to surf across time like as if they were literal waves — is that you have managed to ensure that care in the spiritual dimension has continued to be relevant while in a position of government.”
Brand then asked Oz what he believes is the biggest crisis to American health.
“There is no way to make health care costs affordable if what’s driving at least 75 percent of it is chronic illness. And so if you look at other countries and what they pay per person on health care, we’re at least twice as expensive because we’re twice as fat,” Oz said.
Other speakers at the MAHA summit — which is hosted by the nonprofit MAHA Center rather than a government agency — included healthcare executives and other celebrities such as Actress Cheryl Hines, wife of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and former heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson, who was convicted of rape in 1992 and served three years in prison.
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